Friday, July 2, 2010

Carb counting 101

I don't think I've had a plastic-fruit session since my diagnosis at the age of 15...and it's been a lot of years since I was 15, folks. Like most PWDs, I can SWAG bolus with the best of them. I'm a fan of certain packaged foods (like my super hippie whole wheat bread with flax) that have carb counts handily printed on the label, and I'm a diligent food-weigher when I'm making my lunch at home. But when your daily BG averages need to come down by a just 10 points or so, let's just say that the ol' S needs to get a leeettle bit more scientific.

My endo's office provides classes on a whole range of topics (I loved both their Considering the Pump? and the one on CGMs - super helpful), and carb counting happens to be one of them. I am unclear what the class will entail, but am coming with a notebook, my log binder, and an anxious stomach. There's something about this that just dredges up a whole bunch of issues. Obviously, food's a big one of them as it is for many in the community and has been for me since college. There's also the issue of learning you're doing it wrong, when you've been doing JUST FINE all these years, thankyouverymuch. Plus, I really do just hate the nutrition stuff (no, I'm sorry, I'm not going to eat just 4 pumpkin seeds for a snack just because then it can be considered "free"). And there's the awkwardness of the fact that it's being taught by my CDE - will she judge my logs now? Is this going to affect the way we interact when she looks at my info? Will she not trust me and my carb estimates? What if she sucks and now I don't trust her?!

I'm going to try to keep an open mind. I'd love to pick up any tips I can, and I know that I got a great deal out of the nutritionist at the ACT1 speaker series - I'm hoping that I'll come away feeling like I've learned something and that I'm better armed to get my BGs even lower.

Hi there.

I'm Karen. I'm a PWD - Type 1 diabetes, to be exact. I live in Brooklyn. I obsess about things. I have a husband, a darling little girl, and two cats (all awesome). I read a lot. I love coffee (a bit too much).